By IDI

There is good news on the S-400 front for India. A top Russian official in an interview has said that Russia will complete the delivery S-400 by 2024.

“The delivery of the first regiment set is scheduled before the end of 2021. We plan to deliver all systems before the end of 2024,” said Dmitry Shugayev, of Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), in an interview with Russian news agency Interfax.

Earlier, the deliveries were scheduled for 2023-2025 timeline.

He did not rule out early delivery, if India asks for it provided relevant production capability is available in Russia.

India and Russia signed the contract for five regiments of the S-400 system for $5.4 billion in 2018.

As per the contract Russia was suppose to complete delivery by 2023.

The contract was facing payment hurdles because of American sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) law of 2017. The prime objective of this law is to sanction Russian weapon industry.

The rupee-ruble route is being used to avoid the sanction. Payment is being made through banks on both sides. India made the first part of the payment last year.